Gary Woodland
Encyclopedia
Early life
Woodland was born in Topeka, KansasTopeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, and attended Shawnee Heights High School
Shawnee Heights High School
Shawnee Heights High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Tecumseh, Kansas, east of Topeka, Kansas. Shawnee Heights High School is the only high school located within the city limits of Tecumseh. The school colors are red, white, and turquoise and the school mascot is the...
in the suburb of Tecumseh
Tecumseh, Kansas
Tecumseh is an unincorporated community situated along the Kansas River in eastern Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Although official populations are not compiled for...
. After high school, he attended Washburn University
Washburn University
Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and...
on a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
scholarship, but left after his freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
year to take up a golf scholarship at University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. He had a successful college golf career, winning four tournaments before turning professional in 2007.
Professional career
After turning professional, Woodland played in a handful of tournaments on the second-tier Nationwide TourNationwide Tour
The Nationwide Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either failed to score well enough at that level's Qualifying School to earn their PGA Tour card, or who have done so but then failed to win enough money to stay at that level...
in 2007 and 2008. At the end of the 2008 season, he entered the Qualifying school
Qualifying school
In professional golf the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S. based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a...
for the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
, and finished in a tie for 11th, which was good enough to earn him a full card to play on the PGA Tour in 2009. However, he struggled for form in his debut season, making just eight cuts in 18 appearances before a shoulder injury cut his golfing year short in July.
In 2010, Woodland divided his time between the PGA and Nationwide Tours. He continued to struggle for his best form, not recording a single top ten finish on either tour, but he did display enough consistency to finish 92nd in the Nationwide Tour money list. Once again, he entered the season-ending qualifying school, and again he finished T-11, to secure a return to full PGA Tour status.
In his second tournament of 2011, the Bob Hope Classic, he finished in a tie for first at 27-under-par, but was edged out for the title by Jhonattan Vegas
Jhonattan Vegas
Jhonattan Vegas is a Venezuelan professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.Vegas was born in Maturín, Venezuela. He played college golf at the University of Texas....
in a playoff. This was his first top-10 finish on either of the two main tours.
In March 2011, Woodland won his first PGA Tour title at the Transitions Championship by one stroke when fellow American Webb Simpson
Webb Simpson
James Frederick "Webb" Simpson is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.-Amateur career:Simpson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He played high school golf at Broughton High before his collegiate golf career at Wake Forest University. He was a three-time All-American and...
missed a par putt on the final hole. Just a few moments earlier Woodland had scrambled a fantastic par from the same position as Simpson on the last, after hitting his second shot over the back of the green. This win secured Woodland a place at the 2011 Masters Tournament
2011 Masters Tournament
The 2011 Masters Tournament was the 75th Masters Tournament and was played from April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club. It was the first major championship of the 2011 season. South African Charl Schwartzel won the 2011 event by two strokes over Adam Scott and Jason Day.Eight players held a share...
and also elevated him to a career high 53rd in the Official World Golf Rankings
Official World Golf Rankings
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers...
. He later earned an invitation into the U.S. Open after moving into the Top 50. He left the tournament with a career-high ranking of 39th. He finished 2011 ranked 17th on the PGA Tour money list.
Amateur wins (6)
- 2005 (2) Cleveland State Invitational, Kansas Amateur
- 2006 (1) Kansas Invitational
- 2007 (3) All-American Golf Classic, Louisiana Classics, Kansas Amateur
PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 20, 2011 2011 PGA Tour The 2011 PGA Tour, the 44th season since the Tour became independent from the PGA of America, will consist of a total of 49 sanctioned events running from early January to late November... |
Transitions Championship | 1 stroke |  Webb SimpsonWebb Simpson James Frederick "Webb" Simpson is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.-Amateur career:Simpson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He played high school golf at Broughton High before his collegiate golf career at Wake Forest University. He was a three-time All-American and... |
PGA Tour playoff record (0-1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011 | Bob Hope Classic |  Jhonattan VegasJhonattan Vegas Jhonattan Vegas is a Venezuelan professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.Vegas was born in Maturín, Venezuela. He played college golf at the University of Texas.... , Bill HaasBill Haas William Harlan Haas is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and won the 2011 FedEx Cup. He is the son of former PGA Tour player Jay Haas.-Early life:... |
Lost to par on the second extra hole; Haas eliminated on first hole with par |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | T24 |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
T47 | CUT | T23 |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | T30 |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | DNP | T12 |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
Professional- World Cup: 2011 (winners)
See also
- 2008 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates2008 PGA Tour Qualifying School GraduatesThis is a list of the 28 players who earned their 2009 PGA Tour card through Q School in 2008.*Players in yellow are 2009 PGA Tour rookies.-2009 Results:T = Tied...
- 2010 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates2010 PGA Tour Qualifying School GraduatesThis is a list of the 29 players who earned their 2011 PGA Tour card through Q School in 2010. Note: Michael Putnam and Justin Hicks had already qualified for the PGA Tour by placing in the Top 25 during the 2010 Nationwide Tour season; they did not count among the Top 25 Q school graduates, but...